- The Modern Institute is an art gallery in Glasgow. In the last few years, it's also been a Glasgow-based "cultural entity" made up of ten musicians and artists. It's safe to say the link isn't coincidental. Take "IV Cheeks," where James Stephen Wright deadpans the sort of esoteric phrases—"I stole a tooth from work today" and "Would you like some signed charcoal?"—you might hear among art school students. (He's a Glasgow School Of Art graduate.) "Limitless Light" obliquely sums up the trust fund-less artist experience—"dazzling debts / dazzling heights," goes Wright, in the hardest Scottish accent he can muster.
Another Exhibition At The Modern Institute's music is basically industrial, but some unusually bright, even cartoonish overtones emerge. You'll hear them on the dribbling synths on "Limitless Light," and on the killer "Quicksilver Lips," where, over Wright's cyborg chat, a polygraph test sounds like it's going haywire. Some tracks—particularly "Unbreakable Pulse" and "IV Cheeks"—recall Cabaret Voltaire, but the EP's hi-fi, chrome-like production successfully swerves pastiche. (You could put this down to the involvement here of Laurie Pitt and Richard McMaster, formerly of Golden Teacher.) There are glimpses of other styles elsewhere. "Molten Gold"'s stark bass synth threatens to break into grime, and "Dozen Cocktails"'s techno has echoes of Svreca's Semantica label. The nonchalance of a title like Another Exhibition At The Modern Institute undersells how fresh it sounds.
Tracklist01. IV Cheeks
02. Limitless Light
03. Quicksilver Lips
04. Unbreakable Pulse
05. Molten Gold
06. Dozen Cocktails